GLADES
by Skye Coulson
Summary: So, what if Jim Longworth had a daughter? And, what if that daughter worked for SHIELD? And, what if Ian Quinn were the mystery shooter from the series finale of The Glades. Let's find out, shall we? (Please read & review!)
1. If I Didn't Have You

**G.L.A.D.E.S.**

**Disclaimer:  
**As usual, I own nothing. Although, I _do _claim Special Agent Shaelynn Longworth and Agent Jordan Wall.

**Rating:  
**T (but subject to change)

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairing:  
**Coulsye  
(possibly some Fitzsimmons & Mayward...haven't really decided yet)

**Lyrics Used:  
**Thompson Square "If I Didn't Have You"

* * *

This Life Would Kill Me If I Didn't Have You

* * *

_This life would kill me if I didn't have you | 'Couldn't live without you, baby | I wouldn't want to | If you didn't love me so much | I'd never make it through 'cause | This life would kill me | This life would kill me if I didn't have you_

* * *

"Phil!" Special Agent Shaelynn Longworth called out, rushing into the waiting room of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s medical facility, approaching Agent Phil Coulson and his team. "I am _so _sorry. I came as soon as I heard! What'd the doctors say? How is she?!" She asked worriedly.

"Shaelynn!" Phil called out, relieved to see his old friend and former partner, running up to her and throwing his arms around her in an uncharacteristically emotional display. As he pulled away, Shaelynn could see the tears stealing from his eyes that she knew he would never willingly allow to fall. Clearing his throat, Phil spoke far more shakily than he would ever admit to. "The doctors say that...The bullets perforated her stomach and penetrated her large and small intestine...They transected as much as they could...There's too much damage...There's nothing they can do, but...But...make her comfortable."

"Oh my God, Phil…" Shaelynn breathed. She knew how important the young hacker was to her former partner...even if he didn't yet realize the full extent of his feelings for her. "Phil, I...I don't even know what to say…" She offered, lamely. "But, um...I actually came here to tell you that I would handle Ian Quinn for you."

"What?!" The senior agent demanded, eyes widening frantically. "What-no! Shae, please! You can't do this! I've already lost so much, please don't take this from me, too!" He begged, not even giving half a damn about his pride.

"I'm not doing this _to _you, Phil." Shaelynn replied, stroking her former partner's arms reassuringly. "I'm doing this _for_ you..." Before the senior agent could argue, Shae powered onward. "Skye needs you right now. And, you and I _both _know there **are **doctors and treatments and drugs and procedures that _can _save her. But, you and I also know you're not going to find them, here, in Zurich." Shae pointed out, dropping her voice mischievously. "The answers are in your file. Find them." She ordered, quietly. "Let _me _deal with Quinn. I guarantee you, I _**won't**_ be gentle."

Staring into his former partner's eyes, Phil Coulson knew she was right. His focus needed to be on his hacker who was still barely clinging to life. "I want the gloves _gone_. Nowhere to be found. Understood?"

Shae couldn't resist smirking murderously at the order. "Loud and clear." Nodding curtly, Agent Shaelynn Longworth left the group alone to mull over their next move.

"Sir." Ward's curt voice cut through Coulson's inner monologue. "Who was that?" The specialist asked, inclining his head in the direction of Shaelynn's retreating form.

"My partner." Coulson replied, simply, watching Shae as she disappeared around a corner. "Or at least she was. Until I died."

"What exactly was she doing here?" Jemma Simmons asked, carefully, approaching Ward and Coulson.

Turning to face the bio-chemist, Coulson replied. "She's taking over the Ian Quinn investigation-" But, before he could say any more, Simmons, Fitz, May, and Ward all responded in unison.

"WHAT?!" The four demanded, simultaneously.

"Sir, Skye's one of ours!" Ward argued, only to be shut down.

"Which is exactly why I wouldn't allow her shooter to be handled by anything less than the absolute _best_." Coulson argued. "Shae's right. Our focus, right now, needs to be on finding a treatment or a cure to save Skye. We're not gonna find that here." He elaborated, only just. "I'm going to go make arrangements to have Skye moved to a pod for us to transfer." Just as he took off to make said arrangements, Jemma stopped him with another question.

"Sir...Where will be taking her, exactly?" She asked, timidly, still overwhelmed by everything that had taken place over the last few hours.

"To Bethesda." Phil replied, simply, before disappearing without another word. The rest of the team were all left staring at each other blankly. Granted, nobody ever _really _knew **what **was going on in Coulson's head. But, now...He was being even more cryptic than usual.

* * *

"Agent Longworth." Agent Jordan Wall greeted the senior agent, timidly, as she entered the small office at the Hub. "What...What are you doing here?" He asked, almost frightened of the response he might receive. But, he was confused. The Avengers' handler _never _set foot in the forensics lab. He didn't think she ever had a reason to.

"Agent Wall." Shaelynn greeted, warmly, trying to placate her subordinate. "I came to see if the ballistics results had come back, yet, on the Ian Quinn investigation." She stated, bluntly, getting right back down to business.

"I...didn't realize this was an Avengers case..." Agent Wall replied, worriedly, frantically searching his desk for the results the senior agent was looking for.

"It is, now." Shaelynn replied, curtly, in a voice that scared the living hell out of the lower level agent.

"Uh...Here, it is..." Agent Wall replied, producing the requested report. "The ballistics analysis came back about an hour or so ago." He explained, passing the file over to Shaelynn. Watching the senior agent's painstaking analysis of the information before her, Agent Wall bravely decided to chance another question. "I hear this guy went after an agent-in-training."

"'Training' my ass." Shaelynn barked, still scanning the pages of the file in her hands before snapping it closed and staring straight at the subordinate agent. "Skye's one of ours." She replied, in the same intimidating voice. "Has been since she was only _**months **_old..." She almost snarled, closing in on the younger agent. "There's no 'in-training' about it. Skye's ours. As such, the man that shot her **will **pay _dearly _for putting her life in danger." Without another word, she rounded on her heel and disappeared in an angry rush.

Just outside of the forensics lab, the specialist took another look at the ballistics report in her hand. _I'll be God-damned..._She thought to herself. _Looks like it's time to pay dad & Callie a visit. _She decided, snapping the file closed.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**Okay, so, I feel like I need to explain this story a little bit. This story will be a crossover with _Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. _and _The Glades_. In this story, Special Agent Shaelynn Longworth is the daughter of Detective Jim Longworth (And, Phil's former partner from before New York) and agrees to handle Ian Quinn to allow Phil & the team more time to focus on finding a treatment to save Skye. Her investigation unexpectedly uncovers the name & face of her father's mystery shooter (from the series finale of _The Glades _where Jim is shot en route to his own wedding). So...Y'all saw how rough May was on Quinn...yeah...He should be so lucky...

~Skye Coulson


	2. I'll Be There For You

**G.L.A.D.E.S.**

**Disclaimer:  
**You know the drill. I own nothing except for Agent Shaelynn Longworth and Agent Jordan Wall...

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairing:  
**Coulsye  
(with a touch of Shawkeye...lol)

**Lyrics Used:  
**Boyce Avenue "I'll Be There For You" (_Friends _theme)

* * *

I'll Be There For You

* * *

_I'll be there for you | When the rain starts to pour | I'll be there for you | Like I been there, before | I'll be there for you | 'Cause you're there for me, too_

* * *

Arriving back at Avengers tower, Shaelynn Longworth headed straight for the room she shared with her significant other-and, subordinate-Agent Clint Barton. "Whoa..." The archer joked. "Not so fast...How'd everything go in Zurich?" He asked, his voice taking on a more concerned tone as he pulled the senior agent into his arms. "Is everyone okay?"

"Uh...Yeah, no...No, not...not really..." Shaelynn replied, squirming out of the archer's arms. Normally, after the day she'd had, she'd want nothing more than for her strong, loving, archer to sweep her up in his arms and make her feel like everything would be okay. But, right now, the only way to feel that way was to take Ian Quinn down. _But, how do I tell him that without telling him about Phil?_ She briefly wondered.

"What's goin' on?" Clint asked, eyebrows furrowed, worriedly. "Shae, talk to me." He added, lightly gripping the agent's arm to spin her around to face him. "What's goin' on, here?"

"I just..." Shaelynn paused, searching for the best way to phrase her response. "I gotta get outta here. I need to head down to Palm Glade for a bit. I gotta go see my dad."

"Shaelynn." Clint spoke, firmly, commanding his girlfriend's attention. "Just, talk to me. You know you can tell me anything. Is everything okay?"

Sighing, Shaelynn set down the clothes she held in her hand and looked back up to Clint. "I've taken on a new case that...sort of involves my dad..." She relinquished, finally.

"A new case. That's impossible." Clint argued, confused. "Thor said Loki's dead. Earth's fine. And, what would that have to do with your dad, anyway?"

"It's not about Loki." Shaelynn replied, raising more questions than she answered. "One of our own has been shot-and, is currently on life support-and the ballistics report revealed that the same man that shot _her _apparently shot my father two years ago, on what _should _have been his wedding day."

Clint remembered that day all too well. From the moment that Shae had arrived at the wedding-white dress, adorned with gold sequins, covered in blood-that something had been horribly wrong. But, at the moment, he was more concerned about one of their own being injured. And, from the 'her', he immediately knew who it had to be. "What?! Nat's on _life-support_?!"

_Okay, clearly I'm not getting outta this without reading him in..._Shaelynn realized. She knew it was above his clearance level. "Listen, Clint..." She began in her most intimidating I'm-your-boss-and-if-you-don't-do-what-I-say-I-will-_not_-hesitate-to-kill-you voice. "What I am about to tell you does. _not_. leave. this. room." She insisted. "Do you understand me?"

Clint knew when Shaelynn was absolutely dead serious about something. And, he knew this was _definitely _one of those times. "You have my word, Shae." He replied, earnestly. "You know that. Whatever you tell me is safe with me."

Sighing heavily, Shaelynn crossed the room to lock the door to ensure their privacy. "I'm not talking about Nat..." She conceded, finally.

"But...You said 'the man that shot _her_'..." Clint argued, clearly confused. "And, you said it was one of our own..."

"By 'one of our own' I mean a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative." Shaelynn clarified, retrieving her StarkPad from her bag. "Her name is Skye. She was a hacker for The Rising Tide up until the time Agents Ward and Coulson abducted her from her van-" She began, running through the intel on Skye before she watched Clint's eyes bulge out of his head.

"Okay...sweetie...I think you're going just a _little _too fast..." The archer replied, patronizingly while his girlfriend simply rolled her eyes at him. "Honey, you _do _understand that Agent Coulson is dead. Right?" He asked, in the same patronizing tone. "Loki killed him right before the battle of New York, remember? Then, you took over his job as our handler?"

"Clint, shut up." Shaelynn snapped. She didn't have time to do this gently. "Look. The reason I told you that what I'm about to say stays **_strictly_** between us is because it involves some _highly _classified intel." She warned, firmly. "And, that intel is that Phil's actually alive." Watching the have-you-lost-your-mind expression taking over the archer's face, Shaelynn cut him off at the pass. "Don't get me wrong. He _did _die at Loki's hands just before New York." She conceded. "He was dead for several days after the battle ended." She added. "But, Fury was bound and determined _not _to lose one of his best agents that easily. The man moved Heaven and Earth. Put together a team of doctors...utilized _highly _experimental drugs and treatments...surgical procedures nobody's ever even _heard _of-and, that no decent doctor would ever even _consider _attempting...Dragged Phil through _seven _different operations...And, they brought him back."

"Shaelynn, do you have _any _idea just how **crazy **you sound, right now?" Clint asked, his voice almost panicked. There was no way Shaelynn was right. What she was talking about...It just wasn't possible.

"Believe me..." Shae admitted. "I know how crazy this sounds. I wouldn't have believed it either. But, just two hours ago, I was standing in a hospital waiting room _talking _to Phil. He was just as alive as you and I...an emotional _wreck_..." She conceded, recalling her old friend's emotional state after receiving the heart-breaking news about his beloved hacker's condition. Sure, she'd never seen them, together. But, she saw the look in his eyes. He was in love with her. Even more so than he had been with Eileen, the cellist he'd had to leave behind after he'd died. "...But, he was very much alive..."

"Okay..." Clint drawled, still trying to wrap his mind around everything Shaelynn was telling him. "Okay, for argument's sake...Let's say I accept all that you're telling me as fact..." He began, trying to remain rational about the whole situation. "Why would the same guy that shot this...Skye girl...go after your dad? I mean, how are the two even related?"

"I don't know, Clint!" Shaelynn snapped. She honestly hadn't meant to. She just knew that she desperately needed to get to her father and tell him that she knew who'd shot him. "Look, I don't have time argue with you about this. I have to go tell my dad that I've found his mystery shooter."

Clint Barton was not a stupid man. He knew when to back off and just support the woman he loved. "Then, I'm coming with you." He replied, definitively.

Staring into the eyes of the man that she loved, Shaelynn realized that there was no way in hell she was going to talk him out of going with her. She was better off bringing him along. _I'll deal with Phil, later..._She told herself. Right now, she had bigger fish to fry. "Be ready in ten."

* * *

Upon hearing the knock on his door, Detective Jim Longworth was excited to see his daughter and her boyfriend on his doorstep. "Shae!" He greeted her, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her. "It's so great to see you! It's been far too long!" He added, holding his daughter close a moment longer before turning to the archer with her. "Agent Barton." He greeted, crisply, with a warm smile belying his true feelings about the archer. "Good to see you, too. Why don't you two come on in?" He added, gesturing for the two spies to follow him inside the home.

"As wonderful as it is to see you, dad..." Shaelynn began, carefully, as her dad lead her and Clint into the living room. "I'm afraid we're here on business."

"Business?" Jim asked curiously, stepping into the kitchen as he called out over his shoulder. "What kind of business could S.H.I.E.L.D. have with me?" He asked, as he returned with three beers in hand. "Beer?" He offered, warmly.

"No thanks." Shaelynn replied, dismissively. "Like I said, we're on the job." She explained as her father set the excess beers on the coffee table as he occupied the chair opposite the loveseat she and Clint occupied.

"I still don't understand how any S.H.I.E.L.D. business could have anything to do with me..." Jim mused, wondering just where his daughter was going with all this.

"Clint and I are here, today, because..." Drawing a steadying breath, she finished her thought. "Because, I've found the man that shot you two years ago..."

"Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. be investigating that?" Jim asked, subconsciously slipping into detective mode.

"We weren't." Shae replied, simply. Taking her father's blank stare as a cue to elaborate, she pressed onward, warning him. "You do realize what I'm about to tell you is _highly _classified? And, that I could potentially be risking my job, right now?" Judging by her father's 'so?' expression, she knew he didn't give a damn about the repercussions. Frankly, she wasn't so sure if she even really cared. _He has a right to know who shot him..._She told herself. "We were investigating the shooting of one of our own. Coulson and his team were undercover, on a train through the Italian countryside following a rather large purchase recently made by Ian Quinn-"

"How large?" Jim asked. He was right. Once a detective, always a detective.

"Ten million." Shae replied, bluntly, as her father released a clearly impressed cat-call.

"Damn." Jim replied to his daughter's response. "Any ideas _what _the purchase was?"

"We're still working on that." Shaelynn replied, blowing her father's mind with clincial, detached agent voice. "But, something went sideways. The team ended up being split up when their cover was blown. Ward and Coulson were the first-jumping ship when Ward first realized they'd been made-"

"Hold up." Jim interjected, holding up a hand for his daughter to hit the metaphorical pause button. "'Coulson'?" He added, confused. "As in your partner, Agent Phil Coulson? The man that _died _just before the battle of New York?"

"Technically, yes." Shaelynn conceded. "But, the 'how and why' of his return is highly classified. Strictly need-to-know."

"And, lemme guess..." Jim sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I don't..."

"Sorry, dad." Shaelynn replied, apologetically. It was one thing for her to break protocol for Clint. He'd worked with Phil even longer than she had. Hell, the man fought to avenge Coulson's death. He had a right to know that the man he'd fought so hard to avenge was actually alive. Her father? Not so much. "My hands are tied." She added before returning to Agent Longworth. "Like I said...According to my case file, Ward and Coulson jumped ship, first. Followed by Agent May. Agents Fitz and Simmons along with their final team member, Skye, were all hidden away in the luggage car where they were attacked by the Cybertek guys guarding the package. After Agent Simmons took a grenade to the abdomen-which rendered her unconscious-Skye and Agent Fitz watched as the Cybertek men took the package off the train and loaded it into a getaway car. Hoping that they would lead them to Quinn, Skye and Fitz followed them."

"Did they lead them to Quinn?" Jim asked, curiously.

"They led them straight to Quinn's home." Jim could tell by ice in his daughter's voice that this story was becoming more personal. A fact which was also evidenced by the arm Clint draped over her shoulders. "Once there, Agent Fitz activated his GPS tracking device to alert Coulson and the rest of the team to their location. Next, Skye told him to stay outside and disable any and all vehicles Quinn and his men could potentially use as getaway cars while she went off in search of Quinn. Before she left, Fitz armed her with one of his and Simmons' 'Night-Night Pistols'-"

"'Night-Night Pistols'?" Jim scoffed.

"Believe me..." Shaelynn smirked, ever so slightly. "I didn't name 'em." As her mirth died away, Shaelynn returned to being Agent Longworth. "Once inside the house...Skye found Quinn all right...And, he greeted her with two bullets in her abdomen, at point-blank range." Shaelynn paused as she watched her father visibly pale at the revelation. "I talked to Coulson at the S.H.I.E.L.D. trauma center in Zurich. He said that...the doctors told him there's nothing they can do for her. The bullets perforated her stomach and pierced the small and large intestines. They did what they could, but, there was just too much damage. The surgeon informed Phil that...ultimately, he and the team will have to make the call as to whether or not to continue the life-support."

"'Life-support'?" Callie Longworth repeated, stepping into the living room and taking one of the beers from the coffee table. Popping it open, she settled herself down in her husband's lap as she asked "Who's on life-support?"

"One of ours." Shaelynn replied, before pausing to greet her step-mother. "Hey, Cal..."

"Hey, Shae...Clint." Callie greeted before returning to the matter at hand. "So, what's this about a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent being on life-support?"

"Well, as I was just telling my dad..." Shae began, gesturing to her father. "S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to determine who shot him on what _should _have been your wedding day."

"Why was S.H.I.E.L.D. investigating that?" Callie asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

"We weren't." Shaelynn replied, curtly. "We were investigating the shooting of one our own. The shell casings from _that _shooting matched the ones from my dad's shooting. So, the man that shot Skye and the man that shot my dad are one in the same." Shaelynn explained, clinically with just a hint of malice.

"Well?" Callie prompted, waving for Shaelynn to finish the story.

"Yeah, Shae..." Jim added, anxiously. "Don't just keep us hangin'..."

"The man that shot you both..." Shaelynn began, pausing to draw a steadying breath. "Is Ian Quinn."

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**Wow. 2 chapters back-to-back. That's gotta be a new record, for me. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy!

~Skye Coulson


	3. I'm A Fight A Man

**G.L.A.D.E.S.**

**Disclaimer:  
**Y'all know the drill, b'now...

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Shawkeye

**Lyrics Used:  
**Rihanna "Breakin' Dishes"  
Of the Rescue "Rescue Me"

* * *

I'm A Fight A Man

* * *

_I don't know who you think I am | I don't know who you think I am | I don't know who you think I am | I don't know who you think I am_

_I'm super cool | I been a fool | But, now, I'm hot and, baby, you go'n get it | Now, I ain't trippin' (ah) | I ain't twisted (ah) | I am demented (huh) | But, just a little bit (huh) | I'm kickin-... | I'm takin' names | I'm on flame | Don't come home, babe_

_I'm breakin' dishes up in here | All night (uh-huh) | I ain't go'n stop until I see police lights (uh huh) | I'm a fight a man | And, I'm a fight a man | I'm a fight a man | A man | A man | A ma-aa-a-an | A man | A man | A maa-aaa-aan_

* * *

"Sir, I'm afraid you can't be here." Agent Ward warned when he saw a civilian walking on to The Bus.

"Actually, I believe I can." Detective Jim Longworth argued, smugly.

"On who's authority?" Ward challenged, in absolutely no mood for any games, at the moment.

"On mine." Shaelynn Longworth interjected, just as smugly as her father as she appeared behind him. "Special Agent Shaelynn Longworth." She introduced herself, proudly. "This is my father, Detective Jim Longworth with the FDLE homicide unit."

"What's a homicide detective doing here?" Ward all but snarled. "Skye's not dead, yet." Stepping directly into Shaelynn's face, he hissed. "Even if she _was_...It's a S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation. Not something for some low-level civilian cop."

"This isn't about Skye." Shaelynn replied, not once wavering under the other specialist's intense behavior. "This is about Ian Quinn. And, my father is a material witness in the investigation."

Stepping back, slightly, Ward was still hesitant. "How so?"

"Two years ago, my father was shot by a mystery shooter while en route to his own wedding." Shaelynn began, recalling what _should _have been the happiest day of her father's life. "Now, luckily for _him_, his now wife, Callie, knew him well enough to know that my father will-eventually-be late to his own funeral, one of these days..." She joked, hoping to lighten the heavy mood on The Bus. "So, she asked me to tail him until he arrived at the wedding. So, although I was unable to get a look at the shooter, I _was _able to get my father the medical attention he needed in time to save his life." She continued. "But, the ballistics report on the shell casings that Coulson found on the floor next to Skye matched the casings found at the scene of my dad's shooting."

"Meaning they had to have been fired from the same gun." Ward deduced.

"Precisely." Shaelynn finished. "Which is why I've talked Director Fury into allowing my father his right to confront his attacker."

"You sure that's wise?" Ward asked, carefully.

"Not at all." Shaelynn replied, amused by her father's petulant reaction which she effectively silenced with a wave of her hand. "But, I see no harm in allowing him to view the security camera feed of the interrogation." She reasoned. "At least allow him the satisfaction of seeing Quinn get his comeuppance."

"You do exactly as we _when_ we say it." Ward barked, turning his head to the homicide detective. "Got it?"

"Oh, I think we all know that's not gonna happen." Jim replied, smugly, knowing his pension for shenanigans.

Before Ward could argue, Shaelynn interjected, yet again. "He's right." She conceded. "I know my father. He's not likely to take orders from you or Coulson or any of your team." She admitted. "But, he _will _listen to _me_." She finished, glaring at her father in a way that dared him to cross her.

_Oh, I know that look..._Jim thought to himself. He knew he'd best behave himself or else there'd be hell to pay. "She's right. Whatever Shae says, goes." He told the other specialist, earnestly.

"All right, then..." Ward finally relinquished, taking off in the direction of the cockpit. Before Shaelynn or Jim could say or do anything, they were rudely interrupted.

"**_He_** deserves to die! Not her!" Agent May cried in an uncharacteristic display of emotion.

"That's why Shaelynn is here!" Phil replied before doing a double-take when he saw the man with Shaelynn on The Bus. "Detective Longworth." He greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought my father with me as a material witness." Shaelynn interjected in her father's defense. "After I spoke with you at the Trauma Zentrum in Zurich, I went to the forensics lab to retrieve the ballistics analysis. Once I read the report, they noted that they matched the shellcasings you found on the floor next to Skye to another shooting."

"What other shooting?" Jemma Simmons inquired, curiously.

"Mine." Jim replied.

"Yours?" Leo Fitz questioned.

"Yes, Agent Fitz." Shaelynn added. "You see, as I was explaining to Agent Ward, two years ago, my father was en route to his own wedding when he was shot by an unknown gunman. Unknown until today. That's why my dad is here, with us. I've brought him on as a material witness to the Ian Quinn investigation as a prior victim."

"And, you think that was your call to make?!" May challenged before Coulson shut her down.

"As a matter of fact, it was." The senior agent interjected, defending his former partner's decision. "As of the moment Shaelynn visited us in the Trauma Zentrum, I handed the case off to her."

"Have you lost your damn mind, Phil?!" May screeched. "I _need _to see him suffer for what he did!"

"Agreed." Coulson replied. "But, right now, Quinn doesn't matter. Only Skye does." He elaborated. "That's why I gave the investigation to Shaelynn. She'll make him suffer in ways only she can devise. Meanwhile, we'll be free to focus on finding a cure. A treatment that can save Skye. And, I need you to pilot the plane."

"You _heard _what the doctor said!" May cried, the tracks of her tears glistening on her cheeks.

"She said there was nothing _they _could do for her." Coulson countered leaving Shaelynn, Jim and the rest of the group feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the argument. "But, there are doctors that brought me back from the dead. If they can do that, I'm betting they can save Skye." He reasoned giving everyone around him reason for pause. "_That _is why I handed the investigation off to Shaelynn. Our concern, right now, is finding those doctors! The treatments they used! And, saving Skye!"

Finally, Shaelynn'd had enough. "Ya know, you're not the only one close to one of Quinn's victims, May!" She snapped, daring to stand directly in the pilot's personal space. "That bastard shot my **father** on what **should **have been the happiest day of his _life_!" She snarled, moving in even closer on the pilot. "That worthless sack a shit shot my dad _on his _**_wedding _**_day_!" She hissed. "So, don't even act like you're the only one hurt by Quinn's actions!"

Unwilling to put up with the specialist's attitude, May raised a fist to punch her square in the face only to find her arm twisted excruciatingly painfully behind her back and her face smashed against the coffee table. "Oh!" Jim cringed at his daughter's cat-like reflexes. Even he hadn't she'd had it in her. "Damn!"

"If you're gonna come to the play yard, Agent May..." Shaelynn taunted before leaning over the pilot-holding her firmly in place-before hissing directly into her ear. "Then, be prepared to fucking play..."

"SHAELYNN!" Coulson barked, calling his former partner off of his partner. "I understand we're all a little tightly wound, right now..." Phil conceded as Shaelyn finally raised herself off the pilot, letting her go free with a glare daring her to try something else. "But, fighting each other won't save Skye."

"You're right." Shaelynn conceded. "I'm sorry." She apologized, sincerely, softening her stare toward the pilot.

"Good..." Coulson replied, subconsciously straightening his suit. "Now...everyone...Get back to work..."

* * *

Special Agent Shaelynn Longworth took off down toward The Cage, metaphorical steam pouring from her ears until her eyes landed on a comfortingly familiar form dropping down from a vent. "Agent Barton."

"Agent Longworth." He grinned cheekily.

"You know it's dangerous for you to be on this plane." Shaelynn warned, though her smirk belied her tone. He knew she was happy to see her. "Phil can't know that I read you in on his resurrection."

"And, miss a chance to see you in action?" Clint grinned cheekily. "Not in a million years."

Shaelynn Longworth walked inside The Cage where Ian Quinn was being held with her beloved archer right behind her. As much as he wanted a piece of Quinn's ass for hurting Coulson, he knew his girl could do far worse to torture him. Especially given the added motive of Quinn shooting her father. So, he just sat down in the chair against the wall and settled in to enjoy the show. "And, here, I was hoping to-AGH!" Before Quinn get his smart-ass comment out, he found his face smashed against the cold steel table. "You can't-"

"Why?" Shaelyn hissed, dangerously, her face so close that Quinn felt her warm breath drying the blood trickling from his nose. "Because you're defenseless?" Ripping the chair from underneath him, Shaelynn threw the thing across the room with a loud clatter-leaving Hawkeye just enough time to dodge the flying furniture. As Quinn crashed to the floor, he screamed in agony as a steel-toed boot smashed his most sensitive area. Grabbing his shirt collar, she dragged Quinn up mere inches from her face as she snarled. "Like she was?" Before Quinn could reply, a surprisingly strong and solid fist collided with his face.

Turning to look to Hawkeye, Quinn begged "You just gonna let her treat me like this?" That remark earned Quinn a bitch slap across the face.

"What's the matter, Quinn?" Shaelynn taunted. "What? You're not man enough to attack a woman when she expects it?" A kick to the gut caused Quinn to sputter and cough up blood as he was fairly certain at least one rib had snapped. "Are you really that much of a pussy that you can only shoot an unarmed woman?"

* * *

_It feels like I'm drowning | Without an extra life, tonight_

_Just reaching, pulling grabbing | For something that will save me | Just rescue me | Tonight | Just carry me | Through this fight | Rescue me | Tonight | Carry me | Through this fight_

* * *

Watching the ICU pod being loaded onto the plane, Jim carefully approached Phil. "She's so young..." He mused, taking in the form of the young Chinese-American woman lying unconscious in the bed with all kinds of machines hooked up to her.

"Twenty-four." Coulson responded in a dead, haunting voice. A voice that gave Jim chills.

"Damn..." Jim cursed, softly. "She didn't deserve this."

"And, you did?" Phil asked, curiously, turning to face the homicide detective.

"That was different." Jim shrugged, feeling slightly guilty. "I got lucky. And, not just because Shae was there to get me the help I needed..." He conceded, sighing lightly. "But, because I didn't get hit near as hard as she did."

"Don't be modest." Phil chided, trying to keep his spirits up for the sake of the team. "Shae told me about it. Said your chest bore an eerie resemblance to swiss cheese." Taking in the questioning look from Jim, Phil added "Her words."

Chuckling softly, Jim folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, that does sound like Shae..." As a palpable silence spread between them, Jim couldn't resist. He had to break it. Turning to face the agent next to him, he added "Shae told me you were the one who found her..." Watching the agent's entire body tense, he knew his daughter had been right. There was definitely more to Coulson's relationship with Skye than just that of mentor-mentee. "I can't even begin to imagine how hard that had to have been for you."

Coulson appreciated the empathy. But, right now, he just wasn't in the mood for it. All he wanted, in that moment, was just to find the doctors who brought him back and get them to save Skye. All he wanted was for her to open those beautiful doe eyes he'd grown to love. To know that the woman that he couldn't-and, more importantly _wouldn't_-live without would be okay.

After Coulson had remained silent for too long, Jim spoke again. "I can't even begin to imagine how I would feel if I had found Shae in that position..." He offered, hoping to gauge the agent's sentiments toward the woman in the pod.

Turning to face the detective, Phil knew what he was doing. And, he didn't have time for it. He had work to do. "I need to brief Fitzsimmons." He spoke, staring Jim straight in the eye before taking his leave.

Stepping closer to the window of the pod, Jim felt an odd sort of empathy for the young hacker. Sure, it was hard not to feel compassionate toward someone so young fighting so hard for her life. But, it was more than that. When he looked at the sight before him. He didn't see Skye. He saw Shaelynn's lifeless form, lying there, machines breathing and carrying on life-sustaining functions for her. He also saw something of a kindred spirit. He saw his wife and daughter and step-son all gathered around his own hospital bed. "You're one lucky lady, Skye..." He mused to no one. "Not everyone's lucky enough to have a Phil Coulson in their life."


	4. Waiting For A Light That Never Comes

**G.L.A.D.E.S.**

**Disclaimer:  
**Y'all know the drill...

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Shawkeye

**Lyrics Used:  
**Linkin Park "A Light That Never Comes"

* * *

Waiting For A Light That Never Comes

* * *

_(Oh) | 'Cause I know what it's like to test fate | Had my shoulders pressed with that weight | Stood up strong in spite of that hate_

_(Oh) | Night gets darkest right before dawn | What don't kill you makes you more strong | And, I been waiting for it so long_

_The nights go on | Waiting for a light that never comes | I chase the sun | Waiting for a light that never comes | (Oh) (Oh) (Oh) | Waiting for a light that never comes_

_And I told them: | Nah, you don't know me | Lightning above and a fire below me | You cannot catch me, cannot hold me | You cannot stop, much less control me | When it rains, it pours | When the floodgates open, brace your shores | That pressure don't care, it breaks your doors | Say it's all you can take, better take some more_

* * *

"That can't be." Jemma Simmons argued, struggling to wrap her mind around what her boss was trying to tell them. "What you're describing...It's medically _impossible_!"

"Except for the fact that I'm standing here." Phil interjected. "Proof that it's _not _impossible." He powered on, reaching for his file. "And, here's more proof. My file..." He informed the two science officers. "Describing how they brought me back...The doctors...the procedures...the drugs..."

Reading the cover of the file, Fitz realized that it was classified well above his and Simmons' clearance level. "Sir...It's against the law for us to read this."

"I don't care about your clearance level." Phil barked, in no mood to argue. "I'm ordering you to read it." He elaborated.

"Death and Recovery Report." Jemma Simmons read until Phil interrupted her.

"It was only recently that Director Fury gave me access to this." Phil conceded as Leo and Jemma continued digging through the file. "I've gone over it dozens of times. I need you to decipher the medical parts of it I didn't understand. Feel free to reach out to Dr. Streiten. He should be eager to answer any questions you may have."

"Yes." Jemma replied, looking over the information before her. "I'm sure I'm going to have quite a few."

"Sir..." Leo began, cautiously. "What about...'T.A.H.I.T.I.'?"

"Turns out..." Phil replied, sarcastically. "Not so magical...Just...false memories planted to cover up what was done..."

"Sir..." Jemma interjected carefully, looking up at Phil horrified. "It says, here, your heart was perforated...Torn in _half_..."

"That part of it, I understood." Phil replied. "And, yet...They managed to repair the damaged tissue completely. We need to understand _how_-"

"So we can do the same thing for Skye." Fitz added, finishing his boss's sentence for him.

"That's what I'm counting on..." Phil added, giving Fitzsimmons a look that drove home how important this was.

"We'll get right on it, sir." Jemma replied.

"Thank you." Coulson replied, sincerely.

* * *

"All right, that's enough." Barton interjected, breaking up the fight between Quinn and Shaelynn. "As truly soul-satisfying as it is for me to see Agent Longworth grind your pathetic ass into a bloody pulp...He growled as he replaced Quinn's chair and propped terrorist up in it. "You're really not worth our time."

"Agent Barton's right." Shaelynn conceded. "Tell ya what, Quinn...Since I'm _such _a generous person...I'll give you a choice..."

"Lemme guess..." Quinn quipped, hoarsely, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Is one of 'em 'the easy way'?"

"Ho-oh..." Shaelynn laughed, evilly. "Oh, my not-so-good man...You should be so lucky..." She sneered. "Here are your options. Option A...You give up your boss...This...Clairvoyant coward-because, seriously...Who hides behind a nickname?! I know if _I _was psychic, I'd wanna be rich and famous..." Shaelynn taunted, casually twirling a rather large box knife in her hand. "But, I **digress**..." She hissed-slicing the blade across Quinn's back-the blade effortlessly gliding through the clothing and multiple layers of skin-thoroughly enjoying the way Quinn hissed against the searing pain. "You give up The Clairvoyant...And, I'll kill you right here, right now. I'll very mercifully leave Agent Barton to oh-so-skillfully put a bullet right between your eyes..." She finished with a murderous grin. As Quinn chanced a glance at Barton, what was left of his blood ran cold at the sight of the agent whistling lightly as he cleaned a magnum in his hands. "Or you can pick option B..." She taunted, with an almost sing-song quality in her voice. "Stick to this blind loyalty...Refuse to give us The Clairvoyant's name. In which case, I'll kill you anyway." She paused to lean directly into Quinn's face. "Oh so slowly...painfully...until I get bored of hearing you beg and plead for death..."

Something in the specialist's eyes was inhumanly feral as she curled her lips back, baring her teeth in an animalistic display. The whole thing left Quinn momentarily paralyzed by fear. Even Clint had to admit that the sight of his girlfriend in this interrogation gave _him _chills.

* * *

Watching the interrogation through the security camera feed, Jim physically shuddered as he watched his daughter morph into some sort of animal as she threatened Quinn. "Aw, Shae...What're ya doin'?!" He muttered to himself.

"She still in there with him?" Coulson asked, lightly, suddenly materializing at the detective's side, startling him somewhat.

"Yeah, but any confession she gets out of him's just gonna get thrown out, the way she's treating him." Jim pointed out, gesturing to the screen above him.

"This is S.H.I.E.L.D., Detective Longworth." Coulson shrugged, casually. "We play by our own rules. After what Quinn did-going after one of our own...He _has _no rights. Shaelynn's acting on my orders." Watching Agent Coulson commenting on the interrogation, Jim couldn't believe what he was seeing. "This man needs to die a slow, agonizing death. That's why I let Shae take over. She can give him that better than anyone I know."

"He says to the agent's homicide detective father." Jim mused, trying to make light of the fact that his own daughter was currently scaring the shit out of him far worse than any suspect he'd ever interrogated.

* * *

"I know my rights." Quinn insisted. "What would daddy have to say about you interrogating a suspect without offering him a lawyer? And with such excessive-"

_Oh, that could _not _have been a worse call, dude._ Barton thought to himself as Shae ripped Quinn out of his seat to shove him against the wall by his throat. "Listen here, you sack a shit..." Shaelynn snarled. "You have no rights. You're not leaving this room alive. Those are _my _orders." Releasing Quinn, Shaelynn watched as he fell to the floor in a slump. Crouching down, over him Shaelynn gripped him by the collar. "Your little Clairvoyant has left you to _rot_..."

"The Clairvoyant will have the last laugh." Quinn taunted.

"Well, that sounds to me like you've made your decision." Shaelynn shrugged, releasing her grip on Quinn and rising to her full height, towering over him, before turned to Clint. "Whaddo you think, Agent Barton?"

"I heard 'Option B', personally." Clint smiled, holding his hands up in a feigned surrender.

Turning back to Quinn, Shaelynn flashed the billionaire a menacing grin as she spoke. "Option B, it is, then." And, with that, she savored Quinn's pained cry as her boot collided with his face, shattering his nose, before flicked her knife open, once again. "Oh, this is gonna be fun..."

* * *

"I've never heard of _half _the drugs they gave Coulson." Jemma announced, combing through Coulson's file. "GH three twenty five? What about this robotic-assisted neuro-microsurgery they used to implant the 'Tahiti' memories? It all sounds so diabolical."

"I agree." Fitz mused. "But, we can't argue with results." He added, looking up at Jemma. "He's up and walking around."

Jemma shifted her gaze to the video feed of Skye's ICU pod. "Yeah...But, at what cost?" She wondered. Turning back to Fitz she argued. "You read the transcripts...He begged the doctors to let him _die_..."

"This is different." Leo argued, sharply. "Skye's still alive. We have to keep her that way."

Before Jemma could respond, she felt her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. "Oh! I've asked Dr. Streiten to advise us..." She explained, answering the call. "Hello? … Yes. …" Leo watched her face contort in confusion as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. "Are you sure? … That can't be..."

* * *

"I saw your interrogation tactics..." Jim greeted his daughter, walking into the common area, spotting Shaelynn at the bar, covered in Quinn's blood, casually sipping a bright, blood red, drink.

"Oh relax..." Shaelynn replied, dismissively. "It's just my signature cherry lime flip-cherry Skyye vodka, sprite and cherry syrup for sweetness..." She elaborated, drawing another sip. "It's my favorite way to celebrate a win."

"What win?" Jim asked, curiously, sliding onto the next bar stool. "He never _did _give up The Clairvoyant..." He pointed out, reaching for the bottle of tequila and pouring himself a shot.

"True." Shae conceded with another sip of her drink. "But, we did get vengeance for Skye. That's what Coulson wanted more than anything. To see the man suffer." Another sip. "Coulson wanted the gloves gone. They disappeared."

* * *

"You wanted to see me?"May greeted, joining Fitzsimmons in the lab.

"I just got off the phone with the trauma center in Bethesda." Jemma replied, urgently. "Dr. Streiten's gone off the grid."

"So, we'll find a different doctor who operated on Coulson." May offered, simply, shifting her gaze between the two science officers.

"That's the thing, actually..." Fitz replied, cautiously.

"Coulson was never treated there..." Jemma supplied.

"You're not making sense." May countered.

"None of this makes sense. The doctors listed, the operating room number, none of them _exist_..." The bio-chemist argued. "None of them are part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

* * *

"Quinn shot Skye for _nothing_..." May informed Coulson in his office. "The Place where we're going, the doctors who treated you, they don't exist."

"Or maybe they exist somewhere else." Coulson offered, trying to make sense of the whole mess. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D. There are _always _secrets-"

"That's exactly my fear, sir." Jemma interjected, cautiously. "Your file is filled with secrets. Experimental drugs, unknown surgical procedures we've never even heard of..." Drawing a deep breath to replace her expended oxygen, Jemma continued. "...Frankly...Fitz and I only understood about seventy percent of what's in here..."

"Even if we do find where they treated you, and we were able to replicate the procedures...there's the other obvious question..." May supplied, heavily.

"Which is?" Coulson prompted.

"Whether we _should_..." Jemma replied, gently, causing Coulson to snap his eyes over to her. "What you experienced, sir...if this file is even _partially _accurate-"

"Nobody's suggesting we subject Skye to everything that I went through..." Coulson defended, gently. "But, if there's something in here..." He added, approaching Jemma and pointing to his file in her hands. "...a drug, a treatment that can save her...We _need _to find it..." He elaborated, almost desperately. "Figure it out." He ordered, gently.

"Yes, sir..." Jemma nodded, understanding that her boss could not be moved on the subject, as turned to leave the office, leaving the pilot and the agent alone.

"You disagree?" Coulson suggested.

"No..." May sighed. "I think we need to do everything humanly possible to save Skye..." She replied, honestly. "But, we need to acknowledge that doing so...Might just give The Clairvoyant _exactly _what he wants..." She warned, vehemently.

Shaking his head, Coulson replied "That's a risk we _have _to take..." He offered, helplessly. He could not and _would _not live without her. He categorically refused.

* * *

"How is she?" Leo asked, gently, standing next to Jemma at the window to Skye's ICU pod.

"Deteriorating." Jemma replied, curtly. "And, I don't know how to stop it..." She added, more desperately. "The only thing I've found _remotely _interesting is something called 'GH three-twenty-five..." She explained, pointing the named drug out in Coulson's file.

"Some kind of...drug..." Fitz deduced.

"Coulson was injected with it and literally _minutes _later, his injuries showed signs of cellular regeneration." Jemma explained, watching Skye, helplessly.

"'Regeneration'?" Fitz repeated, dumbfounded. "Is that even possible?"

"Even if this miracle drug _does _exist...We don't know where to find it..." Jemma argued. "We've no...coordinates, no logs of anyone's arrival or departure..."

"I think..." Fitz replied, carefully. "Maybe I can help with that..." He added, gesturing for Jemma to follow him.

* * *

"You set up the echo chamber!" Jemma observed, following Fitz into the gym area.

"Made a couple of calls..." The engineer began, booting up his simulation. "Buddy of mine works in the archives at the Triscaleon..." Setting his tablet aside, he approached the simulation. "Agreed to let us access it from here." Pointing to the small holographic cube in front of them, he added "It's hard to believe that this little cube holds all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s historical administrative data."

"But, if Agent Coulson's procedure didn't take place at any S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facility-" Jemma began only to be cut off.

"Then, I won't find any record of that, here, I know..." Fitz acknowledged. "But, this also contains all inter-departmental memos, travel arrangements, purchase orders...Maybe we can track the location through a virtual paper trail of some sort..." Bumping up the cube up. Fitz opened all the millions of folders within it.

"Okay..." Jemma stated, overwhelmed by all the data before her. "Well, let's start with the travel memorandum from the date Coulson got stabbed..." She decided, with a grand sweeping motion of her arms as she tossed all the unrelated files aside.

"Or...How about the date that Dr. Streiten disappeared from the Triscaleon, mabye they have something about that..." Fitz suggested, swiping through the multitude of data.

"Yeah." Jemma mused, watching as Leo tossed her a holographic file.

"Ready?" He asked, passing her the file as she opened it before her while he continued digging through the files. "Okay, this is interesting..." Leo pointed out.

"World War II bunker?" Jemma questioned, reading over the data before her.

"_Collapsed_ bunker." Leo corrected, highlighting an excerpt. "Definitely not a sanctioned S.H.I.E.L.D. test facility."

"The 'Guest House'..." Jemma read, disbelievingly.

"Exactly..." Leo replied. "Guest. House. G. H." He added, slowly putting the pieces together. "GH three-twenty-five. Look at the file's access history."

"The only record of it ever being opened is by a Level Ten operative." Jemma read, turning back to Leo.

"Director Fury." The operatives both stated in unison.

"So, Fury's _been _to this place and he sanctioned the operations on Agent Coulson and _why _aren't you trying to find the file?!" She demanded, collapsing the data before them.

Swiping through the data, Leo opened another cube only to be met with a wall of encrypted numbers with the words 'UNRECOGNIZED DATA' in bold red lettering. "Damn. Encrypted."

"Skye could crack this..." Jemma observed, frustrated that the one person who _could _help them _needed _**their **help.

Staring at the numbers before him, Leo analyzed the situation before him. "What would _she _do?" He wondered aloud as his mind continued working on the puzzle. Throwing the wall backward to zoom in, the metaphorical light bulb went off. "It's not an encryption..." He realized as he rotated the image to reveal the shape of a landmark.

* * *

"So, what's this 'Skye's' deal, anyway?" Jim asked Shaelynn as they had moved from the bar to the lounge area.

"Whaddo you mean?" She asked, curiously.

"Well, I happened to notice her patient chart read 'Last Name: Unknown'..." Jim replied. "What's that all about?"

Sighing heavily, Shaelynn slumped back in her chair. "It means that...We don't know where she came from...She's an 0-8-4..."

"'0-8-4'?" Jim questioned. "What's that?"

"An object of unknown origins." Shaelynn replied, cryptically. "This is all highly classified, but, after everything that's happened...Protocol's out the window as far as I'm concerned..." She mused before getting back on topic. "Twenty-four years ago, the Chinese village where Skye was born was _completely _**massacred**...Wiped off the map...Along with a S.H.I.E.L.D. team..." Shaelynn began, recounting the story that Phil had confided to her about when seeking guidance as to whether to tell Skye or not. "After the dust cleared, Agent Linda Avery and her partner Agent Lumley, were sent in to investigate reports of an 0-8-4. When they got there, they found the poor thing so covered in blood and dirt, they thought she was dead, too, until they realized she was just asleep in a dead agent's arms..."

"Wait..." Jim interjected, pausing his daughter's story. "You mean that Skye-the _baby_-was the 0-8-4?!"

"First one in the _history _of the agency that's ever been a **person**..." Shaelynn mused before returning to her story. "Anyway, after they retrieved Skye, they brought her to the states with them which was when members of their team started being systematically picked off, one-by-one-"

"Executed?" Jim offered.

"Tortured, head's bashed in..." Shaelynn replied casually, as if she were reading off a grocery list. "The norm..." She shrugged. "Until Agents Avery and Lumley realized that the only way to keep Skye and _themselves _safe was to completely erase her from existence in order to protect her from whoever was searching for her."

"Can't look for something that doesn't exist..." Jim deduced.

"Exactly." Shaelynn agreed. "Then, Agent Avery used a senior agent's credentials to fake a Level Eight security clearance and took Skye to an orphanage with specific orders for the orphanage to continually shuffle her around so that she never spent more than a month or two with the same foster family...Poor thing never even knew it was S.H.I.E.L.D. watching her back all those years..." Shae mused.

"Does she now?" Jim asked, gently.

"Now, she does." Shaelynn replied. "A couple months after Coulson recruited her, Skye confided in him about her life-long search for her parents. After warning her that she may or may not like what she finds, Phil agreed to do whatever he could to help her. Couple of months _ago_, Coulson and May tracked Agent Lumley down to Mexico City-"

"Why not go straight to the source?" Jim questioned. "Why not talk to Agent Avery?"

"Kinda hard to question a dead woman." Shae deadpanned. "Agent Avery was murdered just a couple hours after dropping Skye off at the orphanage."

"She died trying to protect her." Jim deduced.

"Precisely." Shae replied, heavily. "Agent Lumley told Phil and Melinda everything. May tried to convince Coulson not to tell Skye about any of it-"

"Why not?!" The homicide detective demanded. "She has a _right _to know!"

"Agreed." Shaelynn replied, curtly. "But, Agent May was worried that the truth would devastate her. Not to mention jeopardizing not only Skye's safety but that of the whole team. Eventually, however, I convinced Phil to read Skye in. From what he told me, she took it mind-blowingly well." Shae recalled.

"Wow." Jim breathed. "She sounds like one hell of a young woman."

"She certainly is." Shae agreed. "Ya know what Coulson told me about her reaction? He said-and, I quote-'Here I am, telling her something that could...destroy her faith in humanity. And, yet, somehow, she manages to _repair _a little piece of _mine_...'..."

"Ya know..." Jim replied, as Shaelynn could almost _literally _see the gears turning in her father's head. "A young woman like that deserves a last name..."

Seeing where her dad was going, Shaelynn smiled, warmly as she rose from her seat to pat her father's shoulder. "I'll go make a call..." She stated, knowingly.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**Okay, so, how'd y'all like that little plot twist I just threw in there? All credit goes to my wonderful beta, kellz1pt5, for encouraging to go through with the idea when I brought it up! Enjoy! I'll try to keep this updated as quickly as possible!

~Skye Coulson


	5. Fight For You

**G.L.A.D.E.S.**

**Disclaimer:  
**Y'all know the drill.

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Shawkeye

**Lyrics Used:  
**Pia Mia [feat Chance the Rapper] "Fight For You"

* * *

I'll Fight For You Tonight

* * *

_I know you know it | You know it | But, you can't choose who's inside | But, if you just show it | Let me know it | I'll fight for you, tonight | I'll fight for you | I'll fight for you | Tonight_

_We take each other's faults | We know the way to use it all | The world can't turn enough | It never changes up for us_

_We're both fighting here | Keep on fighting, yeah | Can't stop this time | Tell it, tell it when it's done_

* * *

"I don't care how many hoops you have to jump through!" Shaelynn barked at the other person on the other of the line. "Listen to me, this woman has suffered long enough! Make. This. Happen! That's an order!" She barked, slamming the phone down on the desk next to her.

"Director Fury?" Phil asked, a little more hopefully than he'd originally intended.

"Uh-no." Shaelynn replied, quickly. "No, it was...it was something else…"

"Shaelynn…" Coulson warned. Now was _not _the time for her to be keeping secrets from him.

"It's nothing." She assured him, confidently. "Just another project I'm working on with the Avengers."

"Then, why can't you apprise me of the situation?" Coulson asked innocently. He always knew when the specialist was hiding something.

"Because it doesn't pertain to you." Shaelynn replied, simply.

"Bullshit." Coulson challenged. "If it's taking your focus away from Ian Quinn, then it _does _pertain to me!" He argued. Tensions were running high all through The Bus and he was in no mood for games. Closing in on his former partner, Phil stood directly in her face as he hissed "I brought you on this plane to do a job-"

"And, I've _done _that job." Shaelynn interjected, fiercely, completely unfazed by her partner's temper. "You wanted Ian Quinn dead. He's dead. My job is done." She hissed, backing her former partner up against his desk. "My only job now is moral support while you try to save your hacker. Until such a time as we're able to actually _do _something for her, I will thank you to kindly back the fuck off of me." Having said her piece, Shaelynn stormed out of the office.

* * *

"What was all _that _about?" Jim asked, curiously, watching his daughter storming out of her former partner's office.

"Phil walked in on the tail end of my conversation with Stark." Shaelynn sighed. "I hate hiding things from him-God knows far too many people have already hidden far too many things from him."

"Why _are _you hiding this from him, anyway?" Jim asked, curiously.

"Because..." Shae replied. "This whole thing is really all about Skye. I mean, it's _her _life we're changing. I really feel like she needs to be the first to know about this..." She added, her voice sounding tired. "How would you feel if someone did something like this for you and everybody else _around _you knew about it before _you _did?"

Jim had to admit. His daughter had a good point. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He conceded, finally.

"Of course I am..." Shaelynn replied, smugly. "I'm _always _right."

* * *

"Guest House is _not _a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility." Phil spoke, loading his gun as he and Agents Ward, Fitz, and Barton prepared to venture into the Guest House in search of the treatment to save Skye. "We don't know who or what's in there. Be prepared for potential resistance." He warned.

"No contact from the inside?" Barton questioned.

"We've tried every known channel." May replied. "No response."

Shaelynn Longworth did not like the sound of that at all. She was even less pleased about not going in, herself, to have her partner's back. But, Phil had nearly begged her to stay with May and Jemma while they looked after Skye. She knew he trusted her to keep his beloved hacker safe while they were in potentially hostile territory. And, she would _not _fail him.

"Could be abandoned." Ward offered, hoping to lighten the palpable tension in the air.

"Hope not." Phil replied, trying just a little too hard to keep his voice light as he continued arming himself. "We need the people inside to work on Skye."

"Simmons is prepping Skye to move at a moment's notice, sir." Leo reported.

"Shae can help with that." Barton offered, grinning at his handler. "She's had med-tech training..." He added.

"And, it also doesn't hurt that my step-mother also gave me a crash course in moving critical patients." Shae added, smugly. The grateful look in Coulson's eyes did _not _go unnoticed as she responded with a warm smile and touch of the arm.

"Good." Coulson replied. "We do our jobs right, this could all go peacefully."

"What if they don't wanna help us?" Ward asked, voicing the question that nobody else dared to ask.

"I'll say 'pretty please'." Barton decided, brandishing a rather sizable machine gun.

"We need the doctors _alive_...and the place _intact_..." Coulson warned, firmly. "If it _does _go sideways, Fitz, I need you down there to determine what Simmons can use to help Skye. And, then we take it. Let's move."

* * *

Stopping her archer on his way out, Shaelynn made one last plea. "Look after him." Her eyes belied the concern her voice so skillfully hid. "I know you all can take care of yourselves but just-"

"I know." He replied, warmly. "And, I will." He added, pausing for a quick peck on the lips.

"Thanks." Shae replied, honestly. "And, you be careful, yourself. I don't want anything happening to you, either..." She added, stepping directly in front of him and resting a hand on his chest. "'Cause, ya know...I kinda like you..."

"BARTON!" Coulson called from the end of the ramp. "LET'S MOVE!"

"I gotta go." Clint spoke gently. "Everything's gonna be all right." He assured her. "I'll _make _it all right..."

* * *

As a shrill bell rang through the air, the security guards shared a confused expression. "Company?" One of them questioned, glancing through the security camera.

"Nothin's scheduled for _weeks_..." The other supplied. "Try the protocol."

"How was the drive from Istanbul?" The first guard asked, over the intercom.

"Counter sign..." Coulson deduced.

"No clue." Barton responded.

"Never heard it." Ward added.

"I can't find it in any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocol directives." Fitz elaborated.

Looking back up at the security camera, Phil decided to go for broke. "This is Agent Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D. We don't know the counter, but, we have a team member in dire need of medical assistance. We know she can be treated here. Open the doors, maybe we can work something out. Do you copy?"

_"How was the drive from Istanbul?"_

Ward and Barton exchanged suggestive glances as Coulson replied "We're looking for medical assistance." As he continued, his voice took on a more desperate tone. "A person's _life _is at stake. Will you help us?"

_"How was the drive from Istanbul?"_

"'Pretty please' it is..." Barton decided, nodding at Ward who shot out the security camera before Leo began drilling into the door panel.

* * *

"These guys are good." The second guard observed as he and his partner suited up to take on the intruders. "Hacked their way in."

"How the hell'd they find this place?" The first guard wondered.

"Doesn't matter." The second guard replied. "Didn't know the counter. You want left or right?"

"Left's good." The first guard replied.

* * *

"There's...an anti-chamber and a set of glass doors." Fitz explained, surveying the scene through his camera. "Can't see much beyond that. Lights are all out."

"Well..." Coulson began. "They know we're comin'...Let's go say 'hello'..."

Ward was the first to jump down into the empty elevator-weapon drawn. "CLEAR!" He called, signaling the rest of the team to join him.

Barton jumped down next, with his own weapon drawn. Followed by Coulson. "Okay, Simmons, we're going in, now." Fitz spoke through his comm. "Simmons?" He repeated, still receiving no response. "Damn it." He cursed under his breath. Joining Barton, Ward, and Coulson in the elevator, he turned to Coulson. "Comms are down. There's too much mountain on top of us."

"Trust me, it's better." Barton replied. "You don't want them to hear the horrible death we're walking into." He joked. Judging by the look in Leo's eyes, the joke was not well-received. "Humor, son..." He explained. "You Britts are too serious." The archer decided. "Besides, if the job was easy-" He began only to have Ward finish his sentence.

"It wouldn't be any fun..." The specialist supplied, smirking ever so slightly.

"I'm not afraid." Leo countered, moving to the front of the pack as he lead the way out of the elevator as Coulson watched him, proudly. "Not yet. I suspect the real danger won't happen until we breach that bullet-proof glass." The engineer surmised. Glancing around, Fitz noted a possible exit. "Probably a staircase back to the surface." He pointed out.

"What do you think, Fitz?" Coulson asked, shifting his gaze between the engineer and the panel on the door. "Can you get us inside?"

"To a certain horrible death?" Fitz joked. "Absolutely." He replied, more solemnly. Extracting the panel cover, the engineer connected some of his own wires. "Okay, sir, just say the word."

"Once we get inside, everybody find cover." Phil ordered. "All right, gentlemen, here we go..." He added, with a nod to Fitz.

On Coulson's cue, Fitz entered the command to open the door. Entering the darkened laboratory, Coulson, Barton, Ward and Fitz all found their cover as the doors slid closed behind them. Once the doors closed, the team was met with immediate gunfire. Ducking their heads, the group waited for a pause in the fire before Coulson called out "We came for medical assistance. But, if you keep firing on us, we _will _defends ourselv-" Though, his warning was cut short by more gunfire.

"I count two hostiles." Ward declared.

"Copy that!" Barton responded. "Ready?"

With a silent confirmation, Coulson, Ward and Barton all began returning fire. Barton going down, first, as a bullet clipped his shoulder. "You got one of those little flashy things?" Coulson asked, turning to Fitz.

"Of course." The engineer replied, reaching into his bag and passing the aforementioned 'little flashy thing' to Coulson.

Activating the device, Coulson tossed it in the air as he called out "Ward!" On his leader's command, Ward slid across the floor on his back, opening fire on the newly blinded hostiles. Raising his good arm, Barton opened fire as well as Coulson joined in the fray.

Diving across a table, Barton grabbed one of the hostiles' gun-hand before disabling him with a bullet in his chest. Dropping his hostile, Barton called out "CLEAR!"

"See if you can get some lights on." Phil ordered, turning to Fitz.

Retrieving his hostile's ID, Barton dropped it back down on the dead guard's body. "No hard feelings, _Bob_..." He offered, sarcastically.

Upon examining the rest of the area, Ward called "CLEAR! We're not done." He pointed out, noting the patch of blood on the floor. "This one's hit."

"Shouldn't be too hard to find." Coulson replied.

Following the trail of blood, Ward and Coulson found the wounded hostile slumped against the wall. Shining his light in the hostile's face, Coulson waited while Ward kicked the man's gun out of his reach before moving his light as he crouched down next to the guard. "We're going to get you medical help." He offered, while extracting the set of keys from the guard's pocket. "Is anyone else down here? Where are the doctors?" He demanded.

"Med staff doesn't stay here..." The guard responded, groggily.

"We're looking for a _drug_. GH three-two-five. It might help you, too." Coulson countered.

"Do I...kn-know you?" The guard asked, weakly.

"I dunno..." Coulson admitted. "I mighta spent some time, here, a while back..."

"Then, you know about...the timer..." The guard replied, rapidly losing consciousness.

Before Coulson could say or do anything further, Barton shouted out "WE GOT A PROBLEM!"

Returning to the lab they'd first entered, Ward and Coulson heard Barton describe the situation. "Syntax." He stated, simply, eying the explosives all around the lab. "The whole place is rigged to blow."

"There's enough explosives to bring the whole mountain down on top of us." Fitz added.

"Sir..." Ward interjected, holding up the timer on the table. "Less than ten minutes. It's probably a fail-safe. If the guards had eliminated us, they would have stopped the timer.

"Since they didn't..." Phil stated, letting the message hang in the air.

"It's some kind of emergency override." Fitz pointed out. "Skye could probably get past it, but, I can't hack the panel which means we're trapped in here."

"Ward, you can disarm nuclear bombs..." Phil pointed out. "Figure out a way to get us outta here." He ordered. "Let's go find the drug." He added, turning to Fitz.

Following Coulson down some sort of darkened hallway, Fitz was the first to speak. "Sir, this is some sort of medical facility..."

"Yep." Phil conceded. "But, if nobody's here, it won't do us any good."

* * *

"Tough when it's your team." Jim conceded, standing next to Jemma, staring through the window of Skye's ICU pod. "You guys go back a-ways?" He asked, curiously, turning to the bio-chemist.

"Not really." Jemma conceded. "Few months."

Looking at the young bio-chemist, Jim couldn't help feeling a strange sense of pride in her for everything she'd accomplished since her friend had been shot. _Hell, Skye's made it this far all __**because **__of her..._

"We've nothing in common..." Jemma continued. "Couldn't be more different."

"But, you can't imagine your life _without _her..." The homicide detective concluded. He could relate to that. It was the same for him and Callie. Granted, this was different as Jemma wasn't _in love _with Skye. But, he understood the feeling of having someone in your life that was so completely your polar opposite that you come to rely on them to keep your own wits about you.

Looking up at the detective, Jemma couldn't believe how well he understood the situation. Here he was, a complete outsider-a perfect stranger-and she couldn't believe how well he related to her position. "Yes." She breathed. She couldn't believe he was so suddenly becoming her confidant. Though, she supposed it was because of how well he reminded her of her own father. "You've experienced that, Detective Longworth?"

"I have." Jim replied, honestly. "Sometimes, a person takes you by surprise."

"Yeah..." Jemma breathed, smiling ever so slightly as she turned back to the window.

Returning his own gaze to the hacker in the bed, Jim replied "She's very lucky to have you." And, that was the truth. Jemma had been solely responsible for keeping her alive, this long. Granted, the surgeons at the trauma zentrum in Zurich had played a role. But, where they'd given up on her, Jemma hadn't. She still wanted to keep fighting. Jim had to admire that. "Ya know...If anything bad ever happens to me..." He paused, turning back to the young woman by his side. "I hope you're in my corner, too..." He finished with a proud smile. He could see so much of Shaelynn in the bio-chemist.

"Comms are down." Ma y reported, interrupting the strange, father-daughter scene.

"If we don't hear anything from them within the hour, May and I are going after them." Shaelynn interjected, stepping up by the pilot's side.

Before either Jim or Jemma could say or do anything, all eyes snapped to the pod as the machines went crazy while Skye began convulsing, choking on the ventilator tube in her throat. "Skye's coding!" Jemma cried, throwing the door to the pod open. "All of you! Now!" She ordered.

Immediately following the orders, Melinda, Jim and Shaelynn all raced into the pod. "How can we help?!" May cried.

"I NEED A UNIT OF EPI!" Jemma shouted.

"Got it!" Jim declared, inserting the syringe into the flesh of the hacker's leg while Jemma continued chest compressions.

* * *

Locating a door labeled 'VIEWING', Coulson couldn't stop himself from cautiously entering the room. Stepping up to a large glass window, Phil's blood ran cold as he realized the window overlooked the operating room where his memories had been altered.

* * *

_"Don't." Suddenly, Phil was right back on the operating table. "Please, let me die. LET ME DIE!"_

* * *

Phil had been so engrossed in his flashback, he'd never noticed the engineer at his side. "Is...that...where..." The engineer asked, cautiously.

"Yeah..." Phil breathed, still staring at the table down below. Finally, his mind returned to the unwitting owner of his newly repaired heart. And, her dire situation. Wrenching himself away from the window to his hell, Phil turned to leave as Fitz soon followed.

* * *

Turning the timer over in his hands, Ward knew he'd never be able to disable _all _the explosives in the compound. _Time for Plan B..._He decided. "Timer doesn't detonate the explosion..." He observed. "It's just a clock. Detonator must be somewhere else."

"It's not in here." Barton interjected. "Or I'd have found it. There's no time to search the whole compound. Maybe we could take some Syntax. Use it on the doors." He offered, moving to claim the aforementioned explosives.

* * *

Finally locating the first promising lead they'd had since they landed, Phil was about to turn the knob on a door labeled 'BIOHAZARD CONTAINMENT' when Fitz spoke "Sir...Are you sure-" However, Coulson ignored his warnings and continued turning the wheel until the door finally opened. Entering the room, Fitz spoke again. "We should put suits on before we go in there." He warned, taking a suit from the table before them.

"You're right." Phil conceded. "But, there's no time." He argued, opening the door to the lab are. Exploring the lab, the two operatives tried not to be too disturbed by the various jars on the shelves and their respective contents.

"Wish I could speak to Simmons." Fitz mused. "She'd know what most of this stuff is." He added as Phil continued pilfering through the various shelves and cabinets and miscellaneous containers. "Or...at least..what stuff, not to touch..." He mused, forbiddingly. Helping his boss rummage through the myriad of jars and containers, he couldn't escape the feeling of searching for a needle in a haystack. Finally, Coulson hit on something.

"Fitz." The senior agent barked, pointing to a locked glass cabinet. "Over there." Following his boss' trail, the engineer visually searched the contents of the cabinet.

"I don't see any 'GH'..." He observed. "Agent Coulson..." He added, drawing the senior agent's attention as he pointed to a lock on the cabinet. "It's locked."

"Here." Coulson offered, presenting the keys he'd taken from the dead guard. "Put these on." He ordered, handing the tech operative a pair of gloves while he worked the keys in the lock. As he slid the door open, Ward intruded on the scene.

"Time to go." The specialist declared. "We couldn't stop it." He added, reluctantly admitting defeat. "Four minutes and counting-"

"Almost got it..." Fitz mused, sliding a cylindrical tube out of its resting place.

"Syntax are in here as well." Ward mused, taking in the sights around him.

"This is it!" Fitz declared triumphantly. "Three-two-five." He confirmed, extracting the vial they needed. "This is what we want." He added, holding it up for the senior agent and the specialist to see.

"Okay, go!" Phil ordered. "Get it up to Simmons."

As Fitz took off to take the drug back to The Bus, Ward noticed Phil seemed to be distracted. "Sir." He spoke, trying to draw the man's attention.

"I'll be right behind you." Phil replied, still staring at something in front of him, slowly moving toward it. "Go!" He barked, as the specialist made the utilitarian decision to leave. Stepping up to the door that had caught his eye, Phil read the big bold anagram spray-painted on it. 'T.A.H.I.T.I.' This room could potentially answer every question he'd ever had about his resurrection. Removing the case in front of it, he moved to open the door.

* * *

"Three minutes." Ward announced.

"Have you worked, much, with ammunitions, Agent Fitz?" Barton asked, turning to the engineer. "Explosives are a fascinating specialty..." The archer mused, fastening aforementioned explosives to the base of the door. "Very exacting...Too big a concussion could trigger a chain reaction...Bury us like fossils for a thousand years..." He continued, his voice hauntingly nonchalant as Fitz moved away from the door. "Guess we don't have to worry about The Clairvoyant finding _this_ place." He added, putting the final touches on the arrangement. "Agent Ward!" He called, moving himself and Fitz to a safe distance. "You do the honors."

"Thought you'd never ask." Ward replied, smugly, drawing his hand gun as he fired a shot at the explosives, detonating them and blowing the doors open. As he and Agent Barton struggled to slide the shattered doors aside, Ward asked Fitz "Can you slip through?" Once the engineer nodded his head in the affirmative, he added "Go!"

"Get that drug up there!" Barton shouted, as Fitz took off at a dead run.

"Coulson!" Ward called, noting the senior agent's absence.

"Where the hell is he?!" Barton demanded. "PHIL!" The archer shouted, searching for his friend. Turning to Ward, he added "Go with Fitz. Make sure that drug gets to the girl!" He ordered.

"Agent Barton." Ward countered, before being shut down.

"Go with the girl!" Clint repeated, taking off in search of his old friend. He'd already lost him once. He'd be damned if he'd lose him, again.

* * *

"Weak, erratic heart rate...Each time we save her, I ask myself..." Jemma began, sighing lightly. "Is this what Skye would want?" She asked, allowing the question to hang in the air a moment.

"We didn't _come _this far to _quit_!" May argued, firmly.

Before anything else could be said, the comms flicked to life, statically. "They're alive, maybe we can-" Jemma began, hopefully, before Skye began convulsing again as Jim reached out to steady her while Jemma resumed chest compressions.

"Fitz, come in, what's your status?!" May demanded.

* * *

Unable to shake images of what he saw in that room, Phil walked mindlessly down the hallway back to his team. Finally, Clint's voice broke through the dark. "Phil!" He called. "Phil, what the hell?!" He demanded, catching up to the senior agent. "Don't start slowin' down! It's about to get real warm in here." The archer's blood ran cold when he saw Phil's eyes widen in horror. "Hey, you with me?!" He asked, frantically, trying to shake the man back to reality. "The guys are already out! They took the drug up to Skye-"

"No!" Phil finally spoke, his voice panicked. "Don't give it to her! The drug?! They can't give it to her!" He cried, his voice rising in panic.

"Calm down, tell 'em yourself when get out of this mountain and off the ground, now, let's GO!" Clint assured him as they took off at a dead run.

Jemma continued the chest compressions as Fitz ran into the pod, brandishing the drug necessary to save their friend. "We found it."

"What is it?!" Jemma demanded, frantically. "And, how much injected _where_?!"

"May!" Ward barked into the comm. "Get us off the ground or it will fall out from under us!" Heeding the specialist's warning May began firing up the engines for take-off.

Shoving their way through the shattered lab doors, Phil and Clint climbed the stairs out of the compound two at a time before running for their lives toward The Bus. The pair of agents scarcely made it through the cargo bay door as the mountain behind them blew seconds after the plane left the ground.

* * *

"NO!" Coulson cried, storming into the pod. "Don't give it to her!" He added, just as Jemma pulled the needle out of Skye's skin.

"I was losing her, anyway. What harm could it do?!" Jemma asked as the group all waited on baited breath for a reaction. As the rest of the team watched the monitors, Jim turned to the woman in the bed.

"Come on, sweetheart..." He pleaded, tears stinging his eyes. In that moment, he knew he and Shaelynn had made the right decision. He just hoped and prayed that Skye would live long enough to _see _said decision. "Come on..." He whispered as his voice cracked and broke while Shaelynn wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he took the hacker's lifeless hand in his own.

Watching the exchange, Coulson almost felt a twinge of jealousy until he realized that the detective's actions were that of a father pleading for his daughter's life. In that moment, the slightest ghost of a smile almost tugged at his lips.

"I'll be God-damned..." Shaelynn breathed, as the hacker's vital signs stabilized on the monitors.

"Seconded." Jim agreed, looking up at the monitor to see what his other daughter had been talking about.

"It's working..." Barton surmised.

However, the relief was short-lived as the woman in the bed before them suddenly crashed again. Every person's blood in the room ran cold as Skye gasped and her head fell back as her chest rose in arch off of the bed and her entire body convulsed. Turning their gaze to the monitor, they all watched her heart rate spiked off the charts.

"She's spiking!" May cried.

"No..." Phil and Jim both breathed in shaky unison.

"Stop it!" Shaelynn cried. "How can we stop it?!" She demanded as Jemma stroked Skye's hair in a feeble attempt to calm her friend.

"SKYE!" Jim cried, desperate to save the daughter he'd only just gained moments ago.

"What's happening?" Phil asked, quietly.

"I don't know..." Jemma admitted, brokenly. Looking down into the face of the sister she'd never known she'd wanted, bio-chemist could only cry helplessly as she watched her die right before her eyes.

"Skye!" Phil cried, willing the hacker to pull through.

"Do something!" Leo demanded. "We _have _to **do something**!"

"No..." Shae breathed, her voice shaky and watery with emotion as she watched her new sister dying right before her very eyes. _Come on, Skye...Fight, damn it, FIGHT! _She silently begged and prayed to whatever deity was listening to save her sister's life. Gathering her courage, Shaelynn carefully asked "May I?" She asked softly.

Numb with fear, Jemma silently moved aside to allow the specialist access to Skye as all eyes fell on Shaelynn as she tenderly stroked the hacker's hair as she leaned down to whisper in her ear something that only Skye could have heard. "Come on, sweetie. You're the only sister I've ever had. And, I will _not _lose you! Not here. Not like this. Come on, Skye, **fight**! Phil _needs_ you! You may not know it, but, if we lose you, we lose him, too! His life hinges on yours! So, fight, Skye! You _have _to _**fight**_!" Rising back to her full height, Shaelynn couldn't fight the tears any longer.

Suddenly, all attention was returned to the monitor as Skye fell back on to the bed as another different alarm sounded. Turning to the monitor, the entire group's eyes widened in shock as they watched all the vital signs return to normal levels. "Her heartbeat..." Jemma breathed, in awe. "She's _stabilizing_..."

"Simmons?" Phil asked, carefully seeking confirmation that the very woman he lived and breathed for was, in fact, living and breathing.

At a loss for words for what had just happened, Jemma could only smile and nod her head in the affirmative.

Eyes widened in shock, Ward turned from side to side, desperately seeking answers. "Someone wanna tell me what we just saw?!"

"Girl's a fighter..." Jim deduced. "What was that stuff you gave her?"

"I don't know all I know is that it worked." Jemma replied, in a rush, after a brief silence.

"You're a real miracle-worker..." The detective smiled, grateful for the bio-chemist's actions to save his daughter's life.

"You did it..." May replied, smiling softly, as she shifted her gaze back and forth between Phil and Shaelynn.

"What'd you say to her?" Phil asked, curiously, as all eyes turned to Shaelynn, unable to do any more than just to stare at his beloved hacker in shock and awe.

"Nothing..." Shaelynn smiled, in relief, wiping the tears from her eyes as she leaned into her father's embrace. "Just what she needed to hear..."

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**There it is! Chapter 5! :D Hope you all enjoy! Don't forget to drop me a review!

~Skye Coulson


	6. Can You Be My Nightingale

**G.L.A.D.E.S.**

**Disclaimer:  
**Y'all know the drill.

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Shawkeye

**Lyrics Used:  
**Demi Lovato "Nightingale"

* * *

Can You Be My Nightingale

* * *

_I need a voice to echo | I need a light to take me home | I kinda need a hero | Is it you | I never see the forest for the trees | Baby, I'm a little blind | I think it's time | For you to find me_

_Can you be my nightingale | Sing to me, I know you're there | You could be my sanity | Bring me peace | Sing me to sleep | Say you'll be my nightingale_

_Somebody speak to me | 'Cause I'm feeling like hell | Need you to answer me | I'm overwhelmed | I need a voice to echo | I need a light to me home | I need a star to follow | I don't know_

_I don't know what I'd do without you | Your words are like a whisper come through | As long as you're with me here tonight | I'm good_

_Can you be my nightingale | Feels so close | I know you're there | Oh, nightingale | Sing to me | I know you're there | 'Cause baby you're my sanity | Ya bring me peace | Sing me to sleep | Say you'll be my nightingale_

* * *

Staring at the unconscious form of his hacker, Phil could only stare in horror, wondering just what the hell they had done. Sure, they'd saved her life. But, at what cost. It was all too much. The flashbacks brought on by The Guest House. Nearly watching Skye die right before his very eyes. _I gotta get outta here._ The senior agent decided, wordlessly making a swift exit.

Shaelynn watched her former partner leave. Following after him briefly crossed her mind. But, she knew Phil. And, she could sense that he'd been overwhelmed. Hell, they all had. Sometimes, the best way to help Phil Coulson was just to back off and give him time and space to decompress. Instead, she opted for staying at her sister's bedside, continuing stroking the hacker's hair, gently, relieved to see her stabilizing-and, more importantly, _**staying **_that way.

Watching the senior agent's swift and silent exit, May stepped closer to Barton as she quietly asked "Something happen, down there?"

Turning to face the pilot, Barton just stared at her, helplessly, as he replied "I'm not sure..." He muttered, at a loss for words. "One minute, he's fine. The next, it's like he'd seen a ghost..."

An hour later found Phil and Clint alone in the common area. "I wanna thank you...Agent Barton." Phil spoke, warmly. "And, Shaelynn...For dealing with Quinn for me."

"Don't mention it." Clint smirked, glad to have his old friend back. "There's somethin' I need to ask you, Phil..." He added, hazarding a shot at the agent's first name just to see what would happen.

"Of course." Phil replied, the slightest ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips.

"We've known each a _long _time-" Clint began, only to be cut off.

"Yes, we have." Phil interjected, not missing a beat.

"Been in our share of tight spots, together." Clint continued. "If it'd gone the _other _way..." He began, cautiously. "If Skye hadn't survived...Were you really prepared to throw Quinn off this plane?"

Smiling smugly, Phil replied "You were the one who made that threat. I just wanted to save Skye."

Clint read the underlying message behind Phil's words. "You're right. It was me." He replied, smiling proudly. "My mistake."

"Till next time." Phil replied, extending his hand to the archer.

"Might be sooner than you think..." Clint replied, allowing the hidden meaning to hang in the air as he took his leave, leaving a very confused Phil Coulson in his wake.

* * *

"Do you mind?" Shaelynn asked, stepping into her former partner's doorway. The specialist took the friendly-if not somewhat unnatural-smile and shake of the head as permission as she carefully entered the office.

"You did the impossible, today." She congratulated. "You saved Skye's life." She added, lowering herself down into the chair in front of the senior agent's desk. "Why aren't you happy about it?" She asked, a saddened worried tone to her voice as she sighed wearily.

Staring into the eyes of his former partner, Phil Coulson honestly didn't know what to say. So, he opted to remain silent as he averted his gaze.

"You were yelling..." Shaelynn pressed. She knew her partner wanted to get something off his chest. She could see it in his eyes. "...not to give her the drug." She pointed out. "To not use it on Skye, why?" She demanded, softly. "What made you change your mind?"

Looking into the warm doe eyes of one of the few people he trusted above all others, Phil knew he was close to cracking. He could feel the walls of his defenses crumbling.

* * *

_Exploring deeper into the lab where they'd located the GH-Three-Two-Five, Phil had found a light switch. Flipping it on, he found a shelf full of vials of a myriad of variations on the GH drug-all of which were connected to tubes leading into a strange chamber. Pulling the chamber open, Phil's eyes widened in horror as he saw a blue body of what he could only describe as a space alien with the lower half of its body missing, completely gone. The tubes connected to the vials disappeared into the open abdominal cavity of the body. In that moment, Phil suddenly realized just how fucked up his resurrection had truly been._

"_Phil?" Suddenly, Phil was puzzled as to why he was suddenly hearing his partner's voice. "Phil!"_

* * *

Phil Coulson was suddenly jerked back to reality by Shaelynn's voice growing in volume. "You all right?" She asked, concerned.

The senior agent stared off into the distance. He finally decided it might be beneficial for him to open up even just a little bit. "Being down there..." He began, carefully. "...seeing where I came from...I just got really scared that she would suffer..." He admitted, hating how vulnerable and exposed he felt-regardless of how much he trusted in his former partner and closest friend. "...the way that _I_ did..."

Looking into her dear friend's eyes, she finally understood just how deeply Phil's death and subsequent resurrection had affected him. However, she simply remained silent to allow the senior agent a chance to the rest of whatever was bothering him off of his chest.

"But, she didn't..." He breathed, in sheer awe of his beloved hacker's resilience. "For..._whatever _reason..." He continued, smiling slight and not even knowing nor caring why. "...she didn't..."

* * *

Finally managing to get a moment alone at Skye's bedside, Agent Coulson just sat there, watching her resting peacefully. It had been one hell of a ride, but, there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Watching her sleeping, his mind began wandering through all the things he'd always _wanted _to say but never had the courage. But, if there was anything that this experience had taught him, it was that life was too short. And, if you missed your chance, you may never get another. Bravely taking Skye's hand in his own, Phil leaned over the side of the bed, stroking her hair gently with his free hand while he whispered into her ear. "I know things haven't always been easy for either of us-or even the two of us." He conceded. "But, I know that...I wouldn't be half the man I am now if it weren't for you, Skye. Dr. Streiten said that...That they used that..._machine_...to try to give me back my will to live...But, it didn't..." He admitted, tears pricking his eyes. "I never truly got that back until the day I met you...You were so full of life...So resilient even from day one...You helped me to see that...That S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way isn't always the best way...But, most importantly..." He added, swallowing the lump in his throat as the first tears stole from his eyes. "You showed me that it's okay to open up your heart to someone. I'm so sorry that I couldn't say anything before now...But, I love you, Skye." He confessed, quietly. "I never thought I'd love anyone again, after New York. I'd thought I'd found love, then-and, lost it when I'd died. But...What I felt for Eileen...That was nothing compared to what I feel for you..." The senior agent's voice had grown watery and had begun to crack and break. "Please, Skye...Just...Hang in there. Okay?" He begged, desperately. "Because...Because, I...I need you, Skye..." He admitted, pausing to recompose himself before he continued on. "Now, I never need _anyone_..." He added, trying to smirk at his own false bravado. But, that facade soon fell as he finished his declaration. "But, I need _you_..." Having said his piece, Phil stood and leaned over his beloved hacker to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Okay, I gotta ask..." Agent Ward spoke, popping open a cold beer before flopping down into one of the chairs in the common area. "And, I think we're all thinkin' the same thing..." He added, directing his question at Shaelynn. "I know we all know that the drug ultimately saved Skye's life..." He conceded, pausing for a long swallow of beer. "But, I'm sure we're dying to know...Just _what the hell _did you say to her?" He asked, curiously. "I mean, once you started whispering to her...She just...relaxed. Almost as if right on cue..."

"That was a personal moment, Agent Ward." Shaelynn replied, vaguely, sipping her own cherry-lime cocktail. "What I said was something very personal meant only for Skye's ears..." She added, with a cheeky smile.

"Oh, come on..." Fitz whined. "You've gotta give us _something_..."

"All I will tell you is that I simply told her everything that she needed to hear in that moment." Shaelynn clarified, vaguely. "I just told her what she needed to hear to give her the will to hang on and keep fighting for her life."

"Well, _whatever _you said..." Jemma interjected, a relieved smile spreading across her face as she raised her glass for a toast. "I think we can all safely say that it worked.

"Here, here." The rest of the group replied in unison, raising their own glasses for a toast.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**Okay, I know this chapters kinda short. But, I really just wanted to clean up the ends of the last chapter to tide y'all over till Tuesday's new episode which I'm all but certain will pick up where they left off in terms of Skye's recovery. I want to keep as true to the show as I can. In the meantime, enjoy! (I'll also try to get some work in on my other stories...But, no promises...)

~Skye Coulson


End file.
